A second chance?
by ny26
Summary: Set after „Spin City“. Leo tries desperately to get a better relationship with his son. Can Chris forgive him or will he die before he has a chance to get to know his father? R&R please
1. I needed you

A second chance(?)

Summery: Set after „Spin City". Leo tries desperately to get a better relationship with his son. Can Chris forgive him or will he die before he has a chance to get to know his father? R&R please

Author's Note: I just saw Spin City and then this idea popped in my head and I had to write it down. I know that there are a lot fics with the same subject but I hope you will give it try and read it anyway. I would also love to get some reviews ;) Oh, and for those who used to read "I'll always be there for you, baby brother" and "My 6. season": I will continue with this stories but I'm afraid that it will take a while until I update. So just enjoy this story until then…

* * *

Chapter 1: I needed you

Leo stood dejected on the Golden Gate Bridge, staring at the spot where his son had been sitting just a few seconds ago. He was still shocked about the events from this day, but he knew that Phoebe had been right. He needed to keep it together because his family needed him. Leo had never wanted to leave Piper, she was the love of his life and it had hurt him as much as her when they had broken up. And now they were going to have another child. Chris.

He sighed heavily when he remembered his encounter with Chris in the spider demon's lair. The beating his younger son had giving him hadn't hurt as much as the knowledge that he obviously was going to be a bad dad to Chris. He couldn't imagine that he would favor one of his sons over the other. But that was what he had done. Or rather will do. But Leo promised himself that he wouldn't become the man Chris knew in his future. The raw pain he had seen on his son's face when Chris had told him that he was never there for him had made him disgusted about himself. How could he hurt his own son like this? What the hell had been so damn important that he didn't find the time to be there for him?

"Dad..." suddenly Chris' voice called in his head.

Surprised Leo snapped out of his thoughts. Had his son just called him dad? Quickly Leo orbed away to P3 where he had sensed Chris. He found him lying on the couch, tossing around, obviously having a nightmare. Immediately Leo knelt down next to his son and reached hesitantly out with his hand to stroke through his hair. Chris, though still fast asleep, flinched away from his touch. Leo sighed sadly and looked down at the floor in shame.

"Dad..."

Within a second Leo's gaze was once again fixated on his son. He wondered what it was that Chris was dreaming about, but somehow Leo had the horrible feeling that it wasn't something good. For a moment Leo considered to do something so that he could see what his son was dreaming, but then he realized that Chris would be even more mad at him if he did it. Pushing all his thoughts about Chris' big contempt for him aside, he once again tried to soothe his son with his touch but Chris kept jerking away from him.

"Dad... Daddy" he whispered when Leo touched him on his cheek.

Leo almost teared up when he saw the pain on his son's face again. Was he really such a terrible father in the future? How could he let this happen? As he studied Chris' features that were so much like Piper's, he vowed that he wouldn't let this happen. Chris was an amazing kid, who risked everything to save them, to save his big brother, and it filled Leo with a huge amount of guilt and shame that he had never taken the time to get to know his son in the future. But maybe now they had a chance...

"_I doubt it."_

Remembering Chris' last words on the bridge caused Leo to doubt it himself but he knew that he couldn't give up. The problem was that if Chris refused to get close to him there was not really much he could do. But Leo wasn't ready to give up yet. He had caused his son so much pain, in the last months and in the future, and he was determind to make it up to him. Chris had finally calmed down a bit and Leo watched pleased that his son didn't flinch away from him this time when he caressed his hair.

"Dad?" Chris asked, slowly starting to wake up.

Leo considered for a moment to orb away before his son would wake up completely, but then he thought about the fact that Chris feeled neglected by him so he decided to stay and show him that he really wanted to make things better between them. "Yes, Chris, it's me" he whispered calmly, waiting for his son to open his eyes.

When he did, Chris quickly backed away from Leo, startled at his father's presence. "What are you doing here?" he asked harshly, while he stood up from the couch.

"I – you were having a nightmare and then you called me" Leo answered uneasily at his son's anger.

Chris looked at him in disbelief. "Why would I do that?"

Leo shrugged. "You tell me."

Chris turned away from his father, not wanting to show him how much he had wished that he would be there, how much he really cared; that he even though he would never admit it to himself he did want to save them too. "I don't need you, so you can leave" he said quickly before he could think of things he didn't want to think about.

"A few minutes ago you did seem to need me" Leo said carefully, not wanting to upset his son even more, but also not able to let it go that easily.

Chris spun around to him, anger flashing across his eyes. "I _do not_ need you! Leave, now."

"Chris, you can't keep pushing me away" Leo tried to calm him. "I'm your father..."

"Only biologically" Chris cut him off with bitterness in his voice.

Leo sighed. "I want to be there for you, Chris. Please just give me a chance. I know that you need me and..."

"Yes, I do!" Chris yelled suddenly, surprising not only his father, but also himself. "Or at least I did. But you were never there when I needed you."

"I can..." Leo tried to say, but Chris kept on talking, ignoring his father.

"I needed you when I was a little and cried alone in my room because you didn't show up on my birthday. I needed you when I was nine and alone in the underworld, tortured by some damn demons. I needed you after mom got me and called for you to heal me. I needed you when mom died. I needed you when Wyatt started to turn and tried repeatedly to kill me. I needed you when grandpa died and when I had absolutely no one left. I needed you so many times in my life, but _you weren't there._"

Leo looked at his son with immense pain and guilt. His son's life sounded horrible and he couldn't believe it that he would be so cruel to him. But he knew that Chris was telling the truth. The hurt look on his face made it quite clear. For a few seconds none of them spoke, but then Leo finally found his voice again. "Chris... I – I know that I caused you a lot of pain in the future, but that hasn't happened yet. And I promise you it won't happen either. I can't even imagine how I could become the way I am in your time. You have to give me a second chance. Give _us _a second chance. I won't make the same mistakes again. I swear."

Chris stared at his father and couldn't help but felt a slight hope spreading in him. Leo seemed, for the first time in his entire life, to care about him. Maybe they really had a chance... No, that was _Leo_ he was thinking of. His so called father who had never payed any attention to him, not even in his desperatest and darkest hours. Why should it be any different this time? As much as Leo seemed to try now, Chris knew that he would leave again. He always did. Leo would leave him again and he didn't know if he could deal with it a second time. It had been hard for him to realize as a kid that his father didn't love or cared about him and he just didn't want to go through that again.

"I may have needed you in my life before, Leo, but I do not now" he then said as cold as he could while he put on his usual unemotional mask. "I don't care if you want to make yourself feel better by trying to get to know me or something else, because _I_ don't care – not anymore. So stop with the father-of-the-year attitude and leave me the hell alone!"

Leo watched with tears in his eyes how his youngest son orbed out of the room. He hoped so badly that one day his son would forgive him, but right now he didn't know if it was ever going to happen.

TBC...


	2. Believe me

A second chance?

Author's Note: I changed the fact that Piper moves to Magic School. She still lives in the manor.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! Hope you like this chappie too.

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Chapter 2: Believe me

Chris orbed into the kitchen of the manor and sat down on one of the chairs. It was in the middle of the night and everyone was asleep. It was unnaturally quiet in the house and Chris really didn't mind. If there was one thing he didn't need right now then it was one of his aunts or his mom telling him he should talk with Leo. And he knew that they would do that. Especially his mom.

"Chris?"

Chris looked up from the counter and blinked repeatedly when someone turned on the lights in the room. A second later Piper was at his side with a worried expression on her face. "Are you allright?" she asked her son.

Chris nodded unconvicable. He wasn't allright, quite the opposite actually, and he knew that his mother could see that. She had always been able to see right through him. But he didn't want her to worry about him, it would make everything even harder. His grandpa had told him he should enjoy the time he had with her as long as he can, but leaving her again would be just more difficult if he get close to her.

Piper sat beside him and put a hand on his arm. "You know, he tries really hard" she said calmly, knowing what was bothering her son.

Chris groaned slightly. He had known it. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Chris, he's your father. You have to talk to him" Piper tried to convince him.

"No, I don't" Chris said coldly.

"Well, I'm your mother and when I say..."

"I _won't_ talk to him!" Chris interrupted her angrily. A second later he regretted it when he saw the hurt look on his mother's face. He sighed before he added "It's not like he really wants to get to know me. He just can't stand the thought that someone actually thinks bad about him."

"I think he can't stand the thought that it's his own son who thinks so bad about him" Piper said gently.

"Then he has to find a way to deal with it, because I too had to deal with the fact that my own father hates me and I didn't even know why" Chris shot back. He couldn't let go of the pain and anger towards Leo.

Piper was shocked that he seemed to think that Leo hated him. "Honey, your father doesn't hate you. How can you think that?"

"Maybe because he acted like that" Chris snapped again. He couldn't stop himself even though it wasn't fair to his mother. Before she could say anything he stood up from the chair. "Look, I don't really care about Leo and what he feels for me. I accepted it a long time ago that I'll never have a dad and I'm fine with it. So just drop it, okay?" He orbed away before Piper could stop him.

Once he was gone, Leo stepped into the kitchen and Piper looked at him uncomfortable. He had obviously heard what Chris had said and she could see that he was hurt. "Leo..." she started to say, but didn't know how to continue. What should she say? The only one who could ease her husband's pain was too mad at him to even talk with him.

"I just can't understand how I could become the way I am in Chris' future" Leo said quietly, looking down on his shoes.

"I can't either" Piper said with a small smile. "And it didn't happen yet, you still have a second chance, Leo" she added and put her hands on her stomach, where baby Chris had just kicked her.

Leo walked over to her and hesitantly put a hand on her stomach too. He knew that Piper was usually mad if someone did this, but this time she didn't seem to mind. He smiled at her gratefully. "I know that I have a chance with little Chris here, but I also want to get to know his other self." He paused a second, then he added "Did that sound weird to you too?"

Piper chuckled and nodded. Then she became serious again. "You just can't give up, Leo. He's just as stubborn as you are."

Leo sighed and nodded. He knew that she was right.

* * *

_3 months later (It's a bad, bad, bad, bad world; a few things changed, Leo and Chris still don't get along...)_

It was late in the night and Chris was sitting in the library in magic school, searching for a spell or a potion that would send him back to the future. They had saved Wyatt and now it was time for him to go home. But truth be told, he didn't feel like he was going home. He didn't know how his life will look like in the future, if his family will be there and if his mom will be still alive. The last thought scared him. It had been so hard for him to lose her and loosing her for a second time would probably kill him. He would rather want to stay here in the past where she was still alive – where he felt home.

Trying to keep himself from thinking about this he stood up from the chair. He walked down the hallway to clear his head a bit. He had already a headache from the whole research he did in the last hours.

"The boy has to die."

Startled and confused Chris looked at the door to Gideon's office. Was that the elder who had said that? He stepped closer to the door and listened carefully.

"We have to force them to use our spell."

What spell? What the hell was Gideon talking about? And to whom was he talking to?

"That much power in one being is bound to turn him evil."

Turn him evil? Chris couldn't understand what was going on, but he knew that Gideon was talking about Wyatt. But the elder had said something like 'the boy has to die'. A lump formed in his throat when he considered this idea. Did Gideon want to kill Wyatt?

"We have to get those that protect him out of the way, starting with Leo and Chris."

Chris couldn't believe it. Was it Gideon all the time? The one who turned his brother? Suddenly he grew furious. Gideon had acted like he wanted nothing else than to help them, to save Wyatt. And now he found out that this damn elder was planning to kill his brother. He wanted to open the door and beat the hell out of him, kill him before he could get to Wyatt, but he was stopped from his father's voice coming from behind him.

"Chris? What are you doing there?"

Chris spun around and glared at Leo. He wanted to explain his father what his 'friend' was up to, but then the door opened and Gideon appeared next to them. "Hello Chris, Leo. Did you already find something that can take you back to the future?" he asked with a concerned face.

Chris had to suppress the urge to kill him right there and then, but he knew that he didn't have the power to do it. Thinking quickly, he decided to tell Leo about it. "Leo, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked, trying to keep the fury out of his voice.

"Sure" Leo answered, still eager to make things better between him and his son. In the last months he had tried everything to get close to Chris, but his son refused stubbornly. Leo already feared that he would return to the future before they could talk about everything. But maybe now Chris had finally realized it that he really cared. "What is it, son?" he asked with a small smile.

Normally Chris would be mad at his father for calling him son, but now he didn't have time to think about his issues with Leo. He glanced shortly over to Gideon, who stared at him with a worried expression on his face. Chris wasn't sure if he just tried to play the concerned-elder-and-friend role or if he was really worried because he knew that Chris had heard what he had been talking about in his office. Quickly he turned over to Leo. "Can we talk alone? I need to tell you something before I leave. I mean, I did what I had to do, I saved Wyatt and now I'm going back to the future and I just want to talk with you a bit before I leave" he rambled, making sure that the elder wouldn't become suspicious.

Leo's whole face lit up when he heard his son saying that. He nodded and smiled. "Sure, we can talk. Gideon, can you excuse us?" he asked his mentor politly.

Gideon nodded, also smiling. "Of course. We will talk tomorrow about the spell to send Chris back to the future" he said, before going back into his office.

"So, what..." Leo started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Not here" Chris said in a warning tone and grabbed his father's arm. He orbed them to the attic from the manor where he immediately let go of him again and knocked the table next to him over with his telekinesis powers. He hadn't been able to stop himself, he was just too upset.

"Chris! What are you doing?" Leo asked stunned.

Chris breathed heavily to calm himself, but didn't really succeed. "Gideon wants to kill Wyatt! He's the one who was after him all this time!" he yelled angrily.

"What?" Leo gasped surprised. "Chris, what the hell are you talking about?"

Chris told him about everything he had heard a few minutes ago, still not able to believe it himself. How could he had missed it? He had been looking for the one who turned his brother for over a year and hadn't noticed it what had been right before his eyes. But Gideon was an elder, he had the perfect cover. But soon he would be nothing else than a pile of ashes, Chris promised himself.

Leo stared at his son in disbelief. Gideon wanted to kill Wyatt? But that wasn't possible. He was an elder and most importantly his friend. He would never do something like this. "Chris, Gideon is an elder" he voiced his thoughts carefully. "He..."

"He wants to murder your son!" Chris interrupted him angrily.

"That's not possible" Leo contradicted. "He always helped me and your mom and he was also almost the only one who was happy for me when Wyatt was born. The other..."

"He. Wants. To. Kill. Wyatt" Chris repeated almost yelling.

Leo sighed. "Why are you doing this, Chris? Do you think I'll quit if you say something like this about an elder? Is that the reason? That you want me to be there for you this time around?"

Chris groaned frustrated. "No! This isn't about me! And it's not about you either! It's about Wyatt and your damn elder friend who wants to kill him! Why do you never believe me?"

"So it's never about you, right?" Leo said sarcastically at his son's last sentence. A second later he realized his mistake when Chris' eyes were filled one more time with hurt. What the hell had he been thinking saying this to him? "Chris, I just..."

"Save it" Chris cut him off. "Like I said, it's not about me. It's never and I'm fine with it. But I wouldn't have thought that you would let Wyatt suffer because you don't give a damn about me."

"I do care about you, Chris. And Wyatt isn't in danger anymore. We vanquished the demons who turned him in your time" Leo said gently.

Chris shook his head furiously. "No, we didn't. Because it wasn't a demon. It was Gideon."

"That's not possible. Gideon would never harm Wyatt" Leo replied convinced.

Chris tried not to let his anger and betrayel show, but it was hard. "Listen to me, he wants to kill Wyatt. I've heard him. And I'll kill him." Leo gasped at this and wanted to say something, but Chris continued. "I won't let him hurt my brother. I've been through too much in the last year to give up now. I'll save him no matter what."

"Gideon – "

"Wants to kill him" Chris finished, for what seemed like the hundreth time to him.

"Look, I know that..." Leo tried it again, but was again cut off.

"I understand. I understand that you hate me and that you would like to ignore me all the time, but don't let Wyatt pay for whatever you have against me" Chris growled. "I know that you never believed me in my entire life, but right now Wyatt's life is at stake! You have to believe me!"

Leo could see the pleading look in his son's eyes, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe that his mentor was trying to kill Wyatt. "Chris, I want to believe you – really. But maybe you just get something wrong and..." He stopped talking when Chris lashed out with his hand and throw him over the floor.

"You damn bastard!" Chris yelled outraged. "I can't believe it! Never in my life have I believed that you would let someone hurt Wyatt just because you hate me that much that..."

"I don't hate you" Leo groaned when he stood up from the floor.

"Whatever" Chris snapped before he orbed away. If his father didn't want to help him, he had to find a way to kill Gideon alone. There was no way in hell he would let the elder murder or traumatize his brother.

TBC...


	3. I don't want to die alone

A second chance?

Chapter 3: I don't want to die alone

Leo stood in the attic not able to comprehend what just happened. Why had Chris said something like this? He was sure that Gideon would never hurt Wyatt, but why should his son lie? Maybe Chris really just wanted his attention. In the moment he thought that, he knew that it wasn't right. If there was one thing his son had shown him in the last three months then it was that he didn't want him to be close to him. But why did he say that then? It would only make sense if it was the truth...

But Leo couldn't believe it. Gideon was his friend. His mentor. He wouldn't do anything like this. But seeing his son's desperate and angry face before him when he had told him about Gideon made him question his trust in the elder. What if Chris had been right? Then Wyatt was still in danger and Chris too. He wanted to trust Gideon, but he also wanted to trust his son. He had to find out what was going on and who was saying the truth. Leo orbed away to magic school and entered Gideon's office without knocking.

The elder wasn't there and Leo quickly closed the door behind him. He felt a bit guilty when he started to look through his mentor's things, but he didn't have a choice. After a while he wanted to give up, reliefed that Gideon didn't seem to be that person who Chris had described, but then his eyes fell on a paper in one of the drawers. Written on it was a time travel spell. Or at least it looked like it. But under the spell Gideon had written a few notes about some mirror world.

Leo's heart sank into his stomach when he took out the paper, only to find another where the incredients from a potion were standing. A potion that would keep someone from getting healed. Why would Gideon need this, if not... If not to kill Wyatt. Feeling a bit dizzy, Leo quickly sat down on the chair behind him. He had been wrong. Chris had told him the truth. And he had dismissed him. Again. When his son needed him.

Suddenly Leo started to panic when he realized that Chris had said that he would kill Gideon before the elder had a chance to get to Wyatt. Chris wasn't powerful enough to vanquish an elder. And Gideon also had this potion. If he hurt his son, Leo wouldn't be able to heal him. Fear gripped his heart while he stood up from the chair and tried to sense his son.

* * *

_In the attic_

Chris sat Wyatt down into the playpen and went over to the book of shadows. He had tried to contact his mother, but she had just gone into labor and Phoebe was already with her. When he had tried to tell Paige about Gideon, she hadn't even listened to him. She had been too excited about Piper being in labor and had just handed him Wyatt before she had orbed away to the hospital. Chris wanted to scream and shout about everyone's ignorance, but he didn't have time for this now. Frantically he started to look through the book for something that would help him to kill Gideon. But somehow he doubted it that there would be anything standing in it about how to kill an elder.

Suddenly he heard the floorboard squeak and he quickly looked up, searching for an intruder. "Hello?" he said loudly, in the hope that one of his aunts had come back. But no one was there. He sighed and turned his attention back to the book.

A moment later he heard footsteps. Alarmed he went over to Wyatt and stood protectivly in front of his brother. He turned to the toddler and said "Okay, it's time to get you outta here." He wanted to grab Wyatt, but suddenly he was thrown over the floor and crashed painfully into a table. He groaned and turned back to the playpen, only to see Gideon standing there.

"Don't make me sacrifice you both" the elder said.

Breathing heavily, Chris waved his arms and sent Gideon flying away from his brother. The elder landed on the other side from the attic and conjured an athame. Chris wanted to attack him again, but then Gideon vanished. Fearing that he would attack Wyatt, Chris quickly stood up and ran over to the playpen. Before he could reach his brother, Gideon appeared in front of him with the athame. Chris saw it too late and a moment later he felt the cold metal from the blade stabbing into his abdomen. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees. The elder knelt down with him, but didn't remove the athame.

Chris could feel some kind of potion flowing into his body and looked down at his stomach, where Gideon finally pulled the athame out. Chris immediately fell to his side, while the elder walked over to the playpen. Seeing this, Chris did the only thing he could think of in that moment. He called out for his father. "Dad!"

A second later Leo orbed next to him. When he saw his son lying on the floor with a gaping wound in his stomach, he immediately knelt down next to him. "Oh, god" he gasped while he tried to hold back the tears.

"Wyatt... Wyatt..." Chris moaned in pain.

Leo looked over to the playpen only to see Gideon standing there with Wyatt in his arms. "It's for the best, Leo" the elder said, before he orbed away.

For a moment Leo couldn't do anything. He was like frozen. But then Chris groaned again and he quickly turned his gaze back to his son. "Chris... Chris?" he asked, trying to find out how bad Chris' wound was. But he didn't need an answer. He knew that it was horrible and if Gideon had used this potion on the athame then he couldn't even heal his son. He tried it anyway and hold his hands over the wound, but just like he had expected it, nothing happened. Quickly he grabbed Chris and orbed them to Piper's bedroom where he lay his son down on the bed.

Chris let out another painful moan and Leo frantically tried to heal him again, although he already knew that it wasn't going to work. Leo felt tears coming to his eyes when he realized that this was all his fault. If he would have believed his son, then none of this would have happened. He would have protected both Chris and Wyatt against Gideon and they would be save. But instead he had decided to trust Gideon over his son. Why the hell had he been so stupid? And now Chris, and probably Wyatt too, had to pay the price.

"You have to find Wyatt" Chris' voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Leo looked at him with immense guilt, but also pride. Even though Chris was hurt that badly, he still just thought about his brother. "We're going to find him together" Leo told him, while he still tried to heal his son.

Chris impatiently pushed his hands away and said weakly "It won't work. You've already tried. Gideon's magic did this to me. He's the only one who can stop it. Just ... go. Saving Wyatt saves the future. You know that."

"Wyatt can defend himself, remember? We still have time" Leo said, not even convinced from his own words.

"Only until the trauma turns him" Chris contradicted. Why was his father still hovering over him? He should be out there, trying to find Wyatt and not here with him, not even able to heal him.

Leo shook his had slightly, more to keep the tears from escaping. "I am not going to choose between you and Wyatt, Chris. I can't" he said with pain in his voice. The sight of Chris lying there bleeding heavily was too much for him. And it was only worse because he knew that he was responsible for his son's current state.

Chris was stunned at his father's words. Did he really care about him? Was he really afraid if he would die? A slight happiness spread in him when he realized that it seemed to be like it. But he didn't have time for this now – Wyatt didn't have time. Gathering all his strenght he said "You don't have to, dad. Find Gideon and you save us both."

Finally a tear escaped Leo's eyes when he heard his son calling him dad. God, what had he done? He should have believed Chris. But his son was right. He needed to find Wyatt now, or else everything Chris had gone through would be in vain. "All right" he finally agreed. "All right, but I'm not leaving you alone. I'll be right back" he promised while he stood up from the floor.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked, a bit scared about the fact that his father was leaving him. But what the hell was wrong with him? Wyatt needed his dad more than him right now, how could he be so selfish and wish that Leo would stay? Deep inside him, he knew the answer. He didn't want to die alone.

"To get one of your aunts to watch over you" Leo answered and watched sadly how Chris breathed heavily, obviously in great pain. He quickly knelt down next to his son again and kissed him on his forehead. Chris flinched a little, but Leo didn't care. "You're going to be fine, okay? I promise" he whispered soothingly.

Chris just nodded slightly, trying to get his father to leave. He had to save Wyatt...

"Chris, I'm so sorry" Leo choked out, stroking his son's hair away from his forehead. "I should have believed you... I'm sorry, this is all my fault."

"Dad, you have to save Wyatt" Chris gasped in pain.

Leo nodded and stood up again. He looked down at his son and said "I promise I'll save you both", before he finally orbed out of the room.

Chris watched how the blue orbs left the room and suddenly felt so alone and scared like never before in his entire life. He knew that he was dying and there was no way to save him. And now his dad had left him. Of course that was the right thing. He needed to save Wyatt and Chris knew that. But he couldn't help but felt like Leo had let him down again when he needed him. 'God, Chris, can you think of something else than yourself? Wyatt needs him more right now' he chastised himself. But still he wished that his dad would be there when he'd take his last breath...

TBC...


	4. I want my father

A second chance?

Chapter 4: I want my father

"Phoebe, Paige! I need your help!" Leo exclaimed desperately when he arrived in the hospital. He hated the fact that he had to leave Chris alone in such a state. His son was slowly bleeding to death and he had left him! What if he'll die, then Chris would think that he didn't even give a damn about it if he would die alone. But deep down Leo knew that Chris didn't blame him for what happened, even though Leo knew that he was responsible. But right now he didn't have time to think about this, he needed to save his sons.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked concerned. "And where have you been? Piper has gone into labor almost three hours..."

"Chris is dying!" Leo cut her off, knowing that he couldn't waste any time.

"What?" Paige asked startled.

"Gideon attacked him and kidnapped Wyatt" Leo hurried to explain. "He..."

"Gideon? Leo, what are you talking about? He's an elder, he wouldn't do something like this."

When Leo heard her defending his old mentor something in him snapped. He had done the same thing when Chris had tried to tell him about Gideon and he hadn't believed him. There was no way in hell Gideon would get away with this, even if it meant he had to kill the elder with his own hands. "He _did_!" he yelled, not able to control his anger. He didn't know if he was angry at Gideon, or at Phoebe and Paige, or just at himself, but it didn't matter now. "He wanted to kill Wyatt, but Chris got in his way and so that damn bastard stabbed him! And the athame was poisoned, so I can't even heal Chris! Please, you have to help me save my sons. I can't leave Chris alone, but I need to find Wyatt before Gideon can cause any damage."

Phoebe and Paige were still shocked about the news that Gideon had done these things, but the anger and desperation in Leo's voice made them realize that he was saying the truth. Paige nodded. "Okay, what shall we do?" she asked, trying not think about Chris dying or what Wyatt had to endure right now.

"You need to orb to Gideon's office in magic school. I found a paper with the incredients from the poison Gideon used on the athame. It should lie on the desk. Then you have to go to the manor. Watch Chris and try to come up with an antidote" Leo answered while he hoped that his plan would work. He didn't know what he would do if it didn't...

Paige nodded again. "Okay. Don't worry, he's going to be fine" she assured, not even convinced from her own words, but she could see that Leo needed a bit comfort. Then she walked over to the toilet to orb to magic school.

"I should stay here" Phoebe suggested, before Leo could say something. "Someone has to be here with Piper."

Leo agreed reluctantly. "Fine, but if Paige needs help..."

"Then I'll do whatever I can" Phoebe finished his sentence with a small smile, also trying to comfort the worried father.

"Thanks" Leo said, before he too went to find a place from where he could orb.

* * *

When Paige had orbed away to magic school she hadn't believed that the poison would be so strong, but the incredients made it quite clear. She really had to come up with something very strong by herself. However she was even more shocked when she orbed into Piper's bedroom. There on the bed was her nephew, sweating and shivering, and bleeding heavily from a wound on his stomach. Quickly she walked over to him and knelt down at his side.

With a slight hope rising inside of him, Chris turned around when he heard the noise. When he saw his aunt he still felt better than a few seconds ago, but she wasn't the one he wanted to be here – he wanted his father. And his brother. He wanted, no he _needed_ to know if Wyatt was save before he would die. That was after all the reason why he had gone through so much pain and suffering. Because he wanted his brother to have a happy and good life. Chris knew that he couldn't find peace if his brother's fate would remain unclear to him.

"Hey kiddo" Paige finally whispered, shocked at how vulnerable and young Chris suddenly seemed to be. In this moment he wasn't like his usual confident and strong self at all. In this moment he was just her nephew and it was also this moment that Paige realized that she needed to take care of him. She had never felt like Chris' aunt that much as Wyatt's and she had always blamed it on the fact that he was almost the same age as she was right now. But now she finally realized that no matter how old he was, he was still her nephew and she was still his aunt.

"Where's dad?" Chris asked with a hoarse voice. He hated it how weak he sounded, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"He's getting your brother back" Paige answered, while she gently stroked her nephew's hair away from his forehead. "And until he's back, I'll take care of you, okay?"

Chris just nodded. Paige was might not the person he wanted to be here the most, but at least he wouldn't die alone. He smiled slightly up at Paige. He was glad that she was here. He knew that no one had felt really comfortable with him being around in the house, even though they had tried to convince him from the opposite. But truth be told, Chris knew that they felt awkward to have their son/nephew from the future here, who had by the way lied to them on each and every day, and was also just a few years younger than them. But now when he looked at Paige he didn't see the young woman he had got to know in the last year, instead he saw his aunt. Everything from the love in her eyes to the gentle touch of her hand reminded him of his aunt and after all, she _was_ his aunt – no matter what time he was in. But still... he wanted to die in his father's arms...

"I'll get some things to make an antidote, I'll be right back" Paige said with a assuring voice and gave her nephew's hand a soft sqeeze, before she orbed up to the attic.

* * *

Leo had never felt so much hatred for one personthan in this moment. He had finally found Gideon and Wyatt and after he had made sure that his son was okay, he did the only thing that made sense to him, he beat the living shit out of that bastard. He had just knocked the elder down, who was now looking up at him with fear. "Leo, please, you have to understand. I am only doing this for the greater good. I swear" he exclaimed.

At this Leo was only more furious. He grabbed Gideon on his robe and pulled him back to his feet. "How is killing a child ever for the greater good, huh? Who the hell are you to decide that, huh?" he asked and threw Gideon across the cave, before he could answer. Then he quickly went over to him and picked him up from the ground again.

"I'm an elder! So are you! That's what we do!" Gideon yelled, becoming clearly scared of Leo.

"I'm not one of you anymore" Leo replied and he meant what he said. After this was over he would quit. And if that meant that he couldn't be a whitelighter either, then so be it because there was no way in hell Leo would leave his family again. In this moment he promised himself that whatever happened he would always be there for his family, because there was simply nothing that mattered more to him. The thought of his younger son who was right now suffering and probably dying because of the man in front of him came back to his mind and caused him to lift Gideon up from the ground and pushing his back hardly against the cave wall.

In another attempt to make Leo stop Gideon spoke again. "Leo, listen to me. You know what happens. You know what Chris came here to stop."

When Leo heard the bastard speak his son's name an uncontrollable anger and hatred rushed through his entire being. How dare he to mention Chris after what he's done! With a roar Leo threw Gideon back to the ground and then went over to him. It was time to end this. As much as Leo wanted to cause the elder even more pain he wanted to get back to Chris even more. His son needed him right now, he had to get back to him.

"You're the reason the future's threatened Gideon, not Wyatt..." he said, getting ready to use his powers.

"No..." Gideon tried unsuccessfully to interrupt him.

Leo didn't let him finish his phony attempt to make him stop and continued talking. "But because of what you do to him. I'm about to make sure neither one of you get the chance again."

Gideon was now clearly terrified when he saw that Leo was about to use his elder powers against him. "Then Chris will die" he yelled, in a last try to survive this.

Leo stopped building up energy in his hands when he heard this. As much as he wanted to kill that bastard right there and then Gideon's last sentence made him hesitate. Trying to control his fury he grabbed the elder again by his collar and hissed "Give me the antidote and I'll make your death quick."

"Leo, you can't kill me..."

"I can and I will" Leo cut him off. "And now tell me what the antidote is or else I'll make sure that you'll pay a hell of a price for what you did to my son!"

Gideon breathed heavily while he considered his chances. He knew that Leo would carry out his threat. "If you kill me, than you have no chance to save Chris" he then said, knowing that he was getting to Leo. "Just think about, Leo. Chris is a good man, a good witch. He..."

"Yes, _he is_" Leo growled, not liking the fact that Gideon had hit a nerve. What if Paige wasn't able to find an antidote?

"And he can do so much more good for the world" Gideon continued when he saw that Leo seemed to think about it. "I will save him, I will make sure that the good keeps on existing. It's up to you, Leo. Save your son – your _good_ son. Don't let him die for the evil one."

"Wyatt _isn't_ evil!" Leo yelled, not able to believe that the man in front of him, who wanted him to choose between his sons, was really his old mentor. "And it was _you_ who stabbed Chris, so don't..."

"Yes and it was a mistake" Gideon interrupted him. "He's good. He deserves to live. And you can give him a chance to live. You just have to let me do my job as a force of good and give me Wyatt so that I can stop him before he can destroy the world!"

Leo wanted desperately to save Chris, but he knew that trading his life against Wyatt's wasn't an option. Even if Leo would be capable to do it, which was clearly not the case, he knew that his younger son would never forgive him for putting his brother into danger. That wouldn't be what Chris wanted. And Leo was determind to make sure that his son's wishes were respected. Leo was near to break down and cry over the injustice of everything that happened to his younger son. And now he was forced to make a decision that would probably cost his his life. Before he could even think about any further he hold out his hands and let his power out. Immediately electricity started to stream out of his palms and he lift Gideon up from the ground with it, who screamed in agony. After a few seconds it was over and Gideon was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Leo looked down at it for a moment, dreading what he would find in Piper's room. He knew that if Chris would die he would never be able to forgive himself. He still remembered his son's pleading and desperate face when he had told him about Gideon. And he hadn't believed him. This was all his fault. Leo sighed deeply before he orbed away to the manor, hoping that he wasn't too late.

TBC...


	5. You've never hugged me

A second chance?

Chapter 5: You've never hugged me

The first thing Leo noticed when he orbed into Piper's bedroom was his son, who was lying still – _very_ still – on the bed. Leo's heart, mind and breathing stopped working while he stared at his (dead?) son for what seemed like an eternity. Actually it was just a second before Chris turned his head and opened his eyes to look at him. Immediately Leo let out a little sigh of relief and quickly knelt next to the bed. "Chris..." he said, not even aware of it, while he stroked through his son's hair.

"Hey..." Chris managed to say. He wanted to say so much more, but his voice didn't seem to work anymore. Instead he gave his father a small smile, glad that he was finally here. In the next second the reason why Leo had been gone came back to his mind and caused him to make his voice work again. "Where's Wyatt?" he asked, while he tried to look around to find his brother. Leo would have brought him if he would have found him... This can't be happening, Chris thought. I couldn't save him, I failed...

"He's okay, Chris" Leo interrupted his thoughts in a soothing tone. "And now we're going to save you. You can hold on, okay?"

Chris nodded weakly. He didn't feel like he could hold on for much longer, but when he saw the scared and pained expression on his father's face he knew that he had to try at least. But that was easier said than be done. He could feel himself slipping away and it became more and more difficult for him to keep his eyes open. Listening to his father's soothing words and feeling his gentle touch on his forehead, he decided that he could close them – just for a little while... But he opened them as quick as he could when he heard Leo's panic stricken voice.

"Chris, please don't give up, okay?" Leo whispered, unable to hold back tears. He looked frantically over to Paige who was mixing two potions at once.

Suddenly one of it blew up. "Shit..." Paige cursed, but then her face lit up when she finally knew what ingredients she had to use. "Okay, I know it, just hold on a little bit longer, okay?" she exclaimed, while she picked up the right ingredients.

Leo immediately turned back to his son. "You've heard her. You're gonna be all right" he said, mentally urging Paige to hurry up.

At this Chris tried with all his last strength to hold on, like his father and aunt asked of him. For a few seconds it worked. He could block out the pain a bit, focused his view on his father's concerned face and the room stopped even spinning for a little while. But it didn't last long until everything in front of him became blurred again. Just the pain didn't seem to come back as strong as it was and Chris was for a moment relieved, but then he realized what that meant and he wished that it would come back. He was dying, fading away and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

There was so much he wanted to tell his father before the end would come. He wanted to thank him for saving his brother, tell him how sorry he was about his imprisonment in Valhalla and the incident with the spider demon. He also wanted to apologize for the way he had treated him in the last three months. But most importantly he wanted to tell his father that he loved him and that he was glad that he would die in his arms. Wyatt was saved; the future was good again... there was no reason why he should hold on any longer. And it wasn't like he had another choice...

"Chris!" Leo almost yelled when he saw his son closing his eyes for the second time. Only this time he didn't open them again when he called his name. "No, please... no, don't give up..." he sobbed while the guilt, sorrow and pain seemed to eat him away. How could he let this happen? This wasn't fair... He was so caught up in his own thoughts and anguish that he didn't hear the small explosion from the other side of the room.

"I've got it!" Paige exclaimed and ran hurriedly over to them with a vial in her hand. "Leo!" she screamed and finally managed to snap the grieving father out of his own world.

Leo turned his head over to his sister-in-law and looked at the vial with hope rising inside if him. He took it and poured the content over Chris' wound before he once again tried to heal him. The golden glow came immediately and Leo found himself begging all forces of good he could think of to allow him to save his son. First it didn't seem to work and Leo's begs started to turn into curses, but then the wound finally started to close. Leo concentrated even harder and a few seconds later the wound vanished and he let out a breath, he hadn't even been aware of holding.

Chris opened his eyes again, clearly disoriented. But when he saw his father kneeling beside him with tearstained cheeks and a relieved smile on his face he remembered everything quickly. Out of instinct he put his hands on his stomach, but found no gaping hole in it. There wasn't a single scratch. He smiled slightly and wanted to sit up, only to be pushed back by his now concerned looking father. "Dad… I mean, Leo… I – " He looked at his father insecure. Now that the whole dying thing was over he once again didn't know how to act around him.

"It's okay" Leo said calmly, seeing his son's emotional turmoil. "Just rest now. We can talk about everything later."

"But..."

"No buts" Leo interrupted him with a fatherly voice. "You're gonna rest now, okay?"

"But what about mom?" Chris asked and looked over to Paige.

"I'm going to the hospital and see how she's doing" Paige immediately offered and walked over to her nephew's side. "And you're gonna listen to your father, got it?"

"I'm not a kid anymore" Chris contradicted and sat up, before he said in a slightly whining tone "I wanna go and see mom."

Paige laughed. "Now that sounded very mature" she said and hugged him. "Welcome back in the land of living – and don't scare me like this ever again." She pulled away from him and smiled before she orbed away to the hospital.

After she left there was an awkward silence in the room. Both father and son had realized that they had made a lot of mistakes in the past and they knew that they had to talk about it, but no one seemed to know how to begin. Chris fumbled nervously with the blankets and looked at his hands. His own thoughts about his father from a few minutes ago came back to his mind. First he wanted to blame it on the fact that he had been almost dying that he had thought like this, but he knew that was just partly the truth. Despite his refusal to get close to his dad, he knew that deep down he had always wanted it. And now he was here in the past, his father obviously cared about him and had tried desperately to get a good relationship with him in the last three months. Something Chris had, without admitting to himself, wished for his entire life.

Leo watched his son anxiously. He was afraid that Chris would, probably with good reason, still hate him. After all he had almost been responsible for his own son's death. If he would have believed him than none of this would have happened. Leo realized that Chris had every right to be mad at him. In the last months he had tried everything to get close to his son and when Chris had finally given him a chance to prove that he really cared he hadn't believed him. Leo tried hard to think of something he could say to him. A simply 'I'm sorry' wouldn't be enough.

"Where's Wyatt?" Chris asked suddenly. His dad had told him that his brother was save, but where was he?

"What?" Leo asked back startled. He had been lost in his own thoughts.

"Wyatt. Where is he?" Chris repeated his question.

"Oh, he's in the hospital with Phoebe" Leo answered.

Again – silence. After a minute Chris couldn't stand it any longer. "Leo – dad" he began and sighed, not knowing how to address his father.

Leo was also uncomfortable and tried to push his son back on the bed. "Just rest now. We can talk later…"

"No" Chris said in a stern voice that remembered Leo of Piper. "We need to talk now."

Leo nodded slightly. "Okay." He then hesitated a second, before he forced himself to look directly into his son's eyes, afraid of what he would see there. But to his great surprise Chris didn't seem to be angry. That gave him all the encouragement he needed to do what he wanted to do so badly since three months. He reached forward and pulled his son into a tight embrace. In that moment everything was perfect for him. His son was here, alive and well, and he didn't even struggle to get away from him. He could have stayed like this forever, but he knew that Chris was right. They needed to talk. So he reluctantly pulled away again and was stunned to see that there were unshed tears glistened in his son's eyes. That immediately caused his heart to break and to ask himself when he had hugged his son the last time in Chris' future. From what Chris had told him he hadn't been there for him ever…

"Did I – did I ever hug you?" he then voiced his thoughts, already dreading the answer.

Chris didn't respond at first, but then he answered with his eyes downcast "Not that I can remember."

Leo's eyes also watered up when he heard his son's heartbroken voice. He knew that Chris tried to hide it, but it was all too clear. And Leo could understand it. What he couldn't understand was why he hadn't been there for his son in the future. He had _never_ hugged him. He was Chris' father for goddess' sake! Why had he never hugged him? He needed answers. He promised himself that he would never become the way he was in Chris' future, but still he knew that he would never be able to accept that in another timeline he had caused his son so much pain. He needed to understand what the hell went through his future self's head that he would be such an asshole.

"Chris, do you know why?" he asked his son gently, not wanting to upset him even more.

Chris shook his head. "No, I've never understood it. I tried to make you proud of me, like Wyatt. I did my best, really. It's just, my best never seemed to be enough for you" he told his father, still not looking at him. It was hard enough to talk about this without letting the pain overwhelm. He didn't know if he could hold it in, if he'd look at him. He waited for Leo to say something, but when he did, it wasn't what Chris had expected.

"Am I still alive in your time?"

Finally Chris lifted his head and looked at him incredulously. "Why are you asking that?"

Leo shrugged. "Am I?"

"Yes, you are" Chris answered, still not able to comprehend why his father was asking that.

"Fine, then let's go to the attic" Leo said and stood up from the bed abruptly.

"What? Why?" Chris asked even more confused.

Leo hesitated a second to answer, unsure how his son would react to his plan. "Because I want to summon him, me – or whatever. You know what I mean."

Chris' eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't do that!" he exclaimed while he too got up from the bed.

"I know that _I_ can't do it, but _you_ can" Leo replied and watched worriedly how his son seemed to be getting angry again.

"Do you really need to see that? Do need to see how he treats me like shit? So that you know how to do it?" Chris snapped, unable to stop himself. He had really started to think that this version of his father cared about him and now he wanted him to summon the man who had caused him so much pain. Why should he do that? He wasn't crazy. He didn't need to be reminded of how much his own father seemed to despise him.

"No, I want to see what I have to prevent from happening" Leo answered and tried to calm his son down. "And I want to understand why my future self did this to you. You can't tell me that you don't want to know it too."

Chris didn't know what to say at this. Yes, a part of him, the part who has always wanted a father, wanted to understand. But the other part, which had accepted it a long time ago that he would simply never have a dad, just wanted to forget about it. A month ago Chris would have chosen to hear of the second part, but now that he was looking at his father, who had just two minutes ago hugged him, he couldn't suppress the sudden urge to understand.

He sighed heavily, before he asked "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Leo nodded immediately. "Yes, I am. I want to make sure that I'll never do the same mistakes again."

"Fine, then let's go" Chris said and walked out of the room up to the attic with Leo following him, determined to find out why he had caused his little boy, the one who was being born right now, so much pain in the future.

TBC…


	6. I love you, dad

A second chance?

Chapter 6: I love you, dad

Chris and Leo were both in the attic. Leo was putting candles on the floor, while Chris looked through the book of shadows to come up with a spell. He was still not sure if this was a good idea. He started to believe that the past version of his father loved him, but when his real father would show up now Chris was sure that he would prove him from the opposite. Was he really able to handle this? The answer was clear. No, he wasn't. But he hadn't got choice growing up either. He had had to deal with his father hating him and somehow he would also find a way to deal with it this time. At least he hoped so.

Leo was totally anxious. He too suddenly considered that this wasn't such a good idea after all. He had the feeling that his relationship with his son was getting better, but if his future self would come and do something harsh he could destroy everything. But he needed to know what had happened in Chris' timeline. He would never be able to forget about it. Leo ignited the last candle and walked over to his son.

"Did you find something?" he asked, a small part of him still wishing that he hadn't.

Chris nodded. "Yeah, I've changed the spell to summon a spirit. We can do it now, if you want."

Leo hesitated a second. Now he still had the chance to say no. But when he looked at his son a sudden determination came over him. He couldn't let everything repeat itself. "Let's do it" he finally answered.

Chris sighed, before he started to say the spell.

"Hear these words, hear my cry,

father from another time.

Come to me, I summon thee,

to let me understand your crime."

A swirl of white lights appeared in the middle of the candles and a second later Future Leo appeared. Chris and Past Leo were equally shocked when they saw that he was transparent.

"I thought I'm still alive in your time" Past Leo said while he watched how his future self looked at them confused.

"I thought that too" Chris answered, staring at his father's transparent body.

Suddenly Future Leo seemed to understand what was going on, because the look of confusion left his face and was replaced with a deep rooted pain. He wanted to step out of the circle of candles but it seemed like he was being held back by something. Anger crossed his face and he looked up at ceiling before he shouted "You owe me! You owe my son!" Then he tried again to leave the circle and this time he could step out of it and his body became solid. For a moment he just stood there, staring at Chris with tears in his eyes. There he was, his baby boy, all grown up and risking everything to save his brother. Future Leo had never felt so much pride and pain than in that moment. Pride, because his son was such an amazing and strong person, and pain, because he had never been able to show Chris how much he meant to him. But now he could and he wouldn't waste this opportunity. With a few steps he had crossed the distance between them and hugged his son tightly. It was the first time since Chris had been a new born that he was holding his younger son in his arms.

Chris was more than just surprised when his father wrapped his arms around him. He had expected everything from him, but not this. He couldn't understand what was going on. Why was Future Leo dead? And why was he hugging him so tightly that Chris almost couldn't breathe? Chris had never been so confused and it only became worse when he heard his father sob and felt tears soaking through his shirt. Why was he crying?

Past Leo however was relieved. His future self did seem to love and care about his son. He had feared that Future Leo would say and do things that would hurt Chris, but now he was crying his heart out on his son's shoulder. That immediately caused Past Leo to think about what had happened. If his future self loved Chris so much, then why hadn't he been there for him? Why had he never hugged him and gave him instead the feeling that he hated him?

Future Leo held onto his son as if letting go would mean loosing him forever. But he didn't have another choice than to let go when Chris suddenly pulled away from him. He looked at his son and could see the same pain in his eyes he had been forced to see all his life there. The pain he had caused his own son. He wanted to reach out and hug Chris again, tell him that he loved him, that he was so sorry for what happened and that he had never wanted to hurt him… But he knew that Chris would push him away again and he had every right to do it. He swallowed hard before he finally found the courage to speak. "Chris…" He was once again overwhelmed with tears. "My little boy…"

Chris fought hard against his own tears. Why was his father doing this? He couldn't fall for Future Leo's phony attempt to act like he gives a damn. Because he didn't. Chris knew it. 23 years of neglect had proven it. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped, forgetting for a second that he was the one who had summoned his father.

"Chris, please, believe me. I never wanted to hurt you" Future Leo pleaded sadly at his son's outburst.

"Sure daddy. Come on over and give me another hug" Chris snorted sarcastically. As long as he didn't show his father how hurt he really was, everything was fine. He had to keep control.

"Chris…" Future Leo choked out heartbroken. He knew that his son was just trying to protect himself from getting hurt again, but now that he was finally able to hug Chris and show him how much he really did love him, he was devastated about his behaviour. He dropped to his knees and began to cry uncontrollable, unable to hold everything in any longer.

Chris was only more infuriated at this. How dare his father to cry like this? _He_ wasn't the one who had grown up without a dad. _He_ wasn't the one who had seen his own father chose his brother over him all the time. He didn't have a single reason to cry like this. "What's wrong with you?" he exclaimed angrily. "You wanna play the caring father? Is that what this is about? Well, newsflash for you, I don't…"

"Chris, stop it" Past Leo interrupted his son's rant suddenly. He had stayed quiet until now, mostly because he had been stunned at his future self's behaviour, but now he had to stop Chris. His future self's sobs became harder with every word that left his son's mouth.

Chris turned to the past version of his father, still with anger written all over his face. "It had been so clear that you would take his side! I thought you're doing this for me and now you're defending him?"

"I'm not" Past Leo contradicted. "I just want some answers and yelling at him won't help."

"I think it will help a lot!" Chris snapped and wanted to turn back to Future Leo, but Past Leo spoke before he got the chance to yell at him more.

"What happened?" Past Leo asked his future self. "Why were you never there for Chris?"

Future Leo continued to sob for a few seconds before he finally looked up at his son again. He could see that he was angry, but he could also see the pain on his face. But maybe now he had the chance to make it right. Finally he had the chance to explain. He stood up from the floor and wiped away his tears before he suggested "Why don't we sit down? This could take a while."

"You want me to have a nice little chat with you?" Chris immediately snapped again. "After everything that happened you just want to sit down and talk?"

"Chris, back off. That's the reason why we summoned him, remember?" Past Leo said calmly and sat down on the couch. Then he motioned for his son to do the same. Reluctantly Chris sat down beside him and continued to glare at his father from the future.

Future Leo sat in front of them on a chair and took a deep breath before he started to speak. "First I have a question. Did you already kill Gideon?"

"Yes, I did" Past Leo answered, still satisfied that he had killed that bastard.

Future Leo let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Then Wyatt is save and…"

"What? You knew about it?" Chris yelled in disbelief.

"No, at least not until I died and your mother told me about it" Future Leo answered, again with tears in his eyes when he thought of his beautiful wife. She had never made him responsible for what had happened between him and Chris and for that he was really grateful. She had tried to help him as much as she could and comforted him when he had thought he couldn't bear it anymore.

"Mom? She… you saw her?" Chris' voice was suddenly hoarse and low.

Future Leo nodded sadly. "Yes and she's so proud of you, son. We both are."

Chris' expression became hard once again when he heard this. He wouldn't let his father fool him. He didn't know what the hell was happening here, but he was determined not to give Future Leo the satisfaction to know how much he had hurt him. But when he looked at his father he immediately doubted that it would give him the feeling of satisfaction if he would know. Chris had never seen his father like this. Actually he had barely ever seen him, but that wasn't the point right now. He just couldn't understand why Future Leo was so – heartbroken. That was the right word. But why?

"Wait, Piper… she's dead?" Past Leo asked horrified. He looked back and forth between his son and his future self and didn't even need an answer. The sad and dejected faces from them said everything. "How?" he asked, still not able to believe it. Piper… She was the love of his life, his soul mate… he couldn't loose her.

"We can't tell you" Chris answered immediately and shot a warning look at Future Leo.

"Chris is right" he agreed.

"But…" Past Leo tried it again.

"No. I can't, okay?" Chris cut him off, the tears threatening to fall when he remembered his mom's death. But he wouldn't cry in front of his father.

Past Leo seemed to want to ask again, but then he remembered that this wasn't the reason why they were here. Right now he had to focus on his son, so that he could spare him the pain he had to go through in the future. "Okay, so back to the point." He turned to his future self. "So you know that it was Gideon who was after Wyatt?"

Future Leo nodded. "Yes, I know. And… he was also the one who kept me away from you Chris" he answered, looking into his son's eyes, searching for any sign that he believed him.

"That's the best excuse you have?" Chris asked condescending. "You could always visit Wyatt, right?"

"Chris, you don't understand" Future Leo tried to explain.

"You're damn right! I don't!" Chris exclaimed angrily.

"Then let me explain" Future Leo pleaded sadly. "You can do whatever you want when I'm finished, but please give me a chance to explain."

Past Leo also gave his son a pleading look and Chris nodded. "Fine, go on. But make it quick, I want to visit mom in the hospital."

"Hospital?" Future Leo asked with a frown.

"She's in labour with Chris" Past Leo answered.

"Would you please hurry now?" Chris asked impatiently.

Future Leo nodded and sighed. "It all began three days after you were born" he finally started to explain. "Gideon had just kidnapped Wyatt and we were all searching for him. Of course we didn't know that it was him back then, so we thought that you would be save in magic school until it was over. Piper was of course against it that you should stay there alone and I totally agreed with her. I mean, you were just three days old. So we made it that one of us was always staying with you while the others were searching for your brother. Almost a month later we were able to sense Wyatt in the underworld. We figured that there had to be a lot of demons who were keeping him there so we all went down to get him. We left you alone with Mrs. Winterbourne and there was no day in the next 23 years I didn't regret this decision." Future Leo had to stop for a few seconds to fight back the tears that came to his eyes once again when he remembered these events. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, before he continued. "We could save Wyatt and immediately left to get you from magic school so that we could all go home. It was a huge shock for all of us when we found out that you weren't there. Piper almost broke down completely. I quickly orbed her home so that she could get some rest and to our great surprise we found you there in your crib. Piper immediately picked you up and she seemed like she never wanted to let you go. I also wanted to hold you, but then…" Future Leo sobbed heavily. This was all too much. He knew that everything had changed now that Gideon was dead, but it was so hard to remember.

"What happened then?" Past Leo asked softly. He had listened carefully to his future self and he had never been gladder that his son had come back here to save his brother than in this moment. He was relieved that he would never have to go through that what his other self had just told them.

Chris was so confused. For the first time in his entire life he felt sorry for his father. He looked so broken and lost. What he had just told them was horrible, yes, but it didn't explain everything. His dad seemed to love him so much, but why did he act like he never existed then? Now he wanted, no he _needed_ to understand. "Dad, what happened?" he repeated Past Leo's question, his voice for the first time gentle while talking to Future Leo.

That and hearing his son calling him dad seemed to snap Future Leo out of his break down. He choked back even more tears and looked at Chris with painful eyes. "Piper gave you over… she gave you over to me. You started to cry suddenly and I – I tried to calm you down and hold you even tighter. It was then that your cries became louder and I quickly held you away from me so – so that I could take a look at you and see if you were hurt." Future Leo let out another sob, before he continued. "You – you had burns over your whole body… they weren't there before… I – I laid you down on the bed and healed you, but – but when I touched you… Every time I touched you, you would get new burns…"

Past Leo was even more horrified at this piece of information than about Piper's death. "Why?" he asked while he was now also choking back tears.

Chris just stared at Future Leo. Was what he told them really the truth? It had to be. Looking at his father's tearstained face he knew that it had to be true. But why?

"Gideon…" Future Leo answered with pure hatred and loathing in his voice. When Piper had told him about what his old mentor had done he had wanted to kill him on the spot, but considering that he had been already dead he couldn't do anything anymore. But he was satisfied that this bastard was now dead before he could even do any harm.

"What did he do?" Chris asked, his voice trembling from holding back tears of his own. But he still didn't allow himself to cry in front of his dad.

"He cast a spell" Future Leo answered now again full of pain. "He – the spell should keep me away from you. Every time I touched you, you got burns and – and I didn't want to hurt you. I had to stay away from you! Don't you understand? I had to do it so that you wouldn't die because of me!"

Chris tried hard to stay calm, but it was so hard. He had never felt so much different emotions in one moment. He was still angry and hurt about his father's neglect, even though he now knew that Leo had just done what had been necessary to keep him save. And he felt so sorry for the heartbroken man in front of him, his dad… He loved him; he had always done it, no matter how hard he had tried to convince himself from the opposite. "If it was really a spell, then why did you never tell me?" he asked, while he tried to get his emotions in check. "Why did you let me think that you hate me, huh?"

"I told you, Chris" Future Leo answered sadly. "Piper and I told you so many times, but every time we did it, the next morning you would wake up and don't remember it. You would always come to me and try to hug me or just touch me accidentally… And then you – I had to stop this! I had to go away. I couldn't hurt you. I know that staying away from you _did_ hurt you – emotionally, but I couldn't risk it that I would one day probably kill you…"

"Why didn't Chris remember when you told him?" Past Leo asked, while he looked worriedly over to his son. Chris seemed to be lost in his own world suddenly. He stared down at his hands with tears in his eyes, not moving or reacting at all.

"Gideon let him forget every time" Future Leo answered. He then also noticed his son's lost look and quickly knelt down in front of him. He took his son's hands in his own. "Chris? It's over now. Nothing of this will happen again" he said soothingly.

Past Leo looked at his future self confused. "Wait, why can you touch him now?"

"Because I'm dead. The spell wore off when I died" Future Leo answered, not really paying attention to his past self. He was too worried about his son. "Chris, please say something" he pleaded desperately.

Chris continued to look down at his hands, which were now lying in his father's, and then he spoke a single word "Why?"

Future Leo lifted one of his hands and touched his son's cheek, overwhelmed with tears once again. Staying away from his son his whole life, watching him grow up from up there and not able to be with and help him when he needed him had been almost too much for him to bear. The sisters had never been able to reserve the spell though they had tried it countless times. He was so glad that he could now touch his little boy without hurting him anymore. "I don't know" he finally answered his son's question. "Maybe Gideon just wanted to punish me for having children or he wanted to – to kill you too. I honestly don't know, but it doesn't matter anymore, Chris. I'm here now and everything's going to be fine, okay?"

Chris finally looked up at him, now crying slightly. He then couldn't stop himself from hugging his father. He was there… and everything would be fine now… His dad had never left him because he wanted it, but because he had wanted to protect him. He had always loved him… "Dad…" he sobbed while held onto his father like his life would depend on it.

"I'm here, Chris. I'm here" Future Leo whispered soothingly and stroked through his son's hair. "I was always watching over you… Every night I was watching you sleep. It was the only time I could be in your nearness without risking that you would touch me somehow… I saw you growing up and there was no day I didn't wish that I could be there for you. I know that you needed me so many times in your life and it broke my heart to see you hurt because of me… but I just wanted to protect you…"

"I know, dad" Chris whispered back, still clutching his father tightly. "I – I missed you…"

"I missed you too, buddy" Future Leo said, also not wanting to let go. "I was so scared when you just disappeared a year ago. I really wish that I could have been there for you…"

Past Leo watched them, now hundred percent sure that this had been a good idea. He was so glad that he found out that he wasn't a bad father after all. Truth be told, Leo hadn't been able to believe it for one second that he would leave his son alone like this. And now he had the proof that he had been right. He wanted to hug his son too, but he knew that now his future self needed to hold him. He could easily understand it. Only the thought of not being able to hold his son in his arms because he would get burns if he touched him was horrifying. He couldn't even start to imagine how much it had hurt both his future self and his son to live under such circumstances.

Future Leo was so happy like never before in his entire life. He could finally hold his baby boy in his arms without causing him pain. The last 23 years had been a living hell for him. He had been so excited and full of joy when his second son had been born. In the moment he had held his son in his arms for the first time, he had promised himself that he would always be there for him. Gideon's spell was the cruellest punishment he could have ever imagined. And the worst part was that it had also hurt his precious son. "I love you so much, Chris. You have to believe me…" he begged, his son's words from earlier haunting him. _Why did you let me think that you hate me, huh?_

"I believe you" Chris immediately said while he snuggled into his father's chest. He had never felt so save than in this moment. The future was save and his dad was here and told him that he loved him… everything was perfect. "I love you too, dad."

The End

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Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I'm really happy about it. I know the spell sucks, but I couldn't come up with another, so be nice when you review this chappie. I just hope that you all like the ending! 


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